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'Everything should be accessible to everyone'

By: Arun Sirdeshmukh

Published : Aug 2015

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Digital India can connect rural
areas with high-speed Internet networks, allowing e-commerce to reach parts of
India, which are currently served only by unorganised retail. Apart from
reaching out to customers, entrepreneurs from the interiors can join the
organised retail industry and scale up businesses to pan-India, feels Arun
Sirdeshmukh.

It was not very long ago that
people who shopped online in India were considered 'ahead of time'. But, times
have changed, and in today's world the question isn't "Have you ever
shopped online"; it's "How often you shop online." We can say
with certainty that e-commerce has indeed arrived in India, bearing in mind
that we still have a long way to go.

Notwithstanding the phenomenal
growth during the last two years, online shopping still represents a minuscule
1-2 per cent of overall retail sales in India. By 2020, India's e-commerce
market is expected to reach $100 billion, and there is no doubt this sector
will greatly contribute to the Indian economy. The e-commerce industry in India
is still in a nascent stage. To start with, in India there are 180 million
Internet users and a small portion of them has the access to data connections.
The e-commerce industry will grow further with rising disposable incomes,
affordable access to data, and higher mobile penetration.

It is time to re-look at
regulations for digital companies from a different lens. The policies and
frameworks that were designed for brick-and-mortar businesses many years ago
need a fresh evaluation for digital companies. For instance, online shopping
sites face myriad tax regimes and, in some cases, double taxation too because
they deliver goods to customers across different states in India. It is crucial
to implement a standardised tax structure so that issues like double taxation
can be avoided. Hopefully, the expected announcements related to the Goods
& Services Tax (GST) will result in simplification and standardisation of
the tax regime for digital companies.

Just like a new house
needs a strong foundation, the e-commerce industry still needs a well-developed
ecosystem in India. Last mile delivery is one of the weakest links that is
limiting the reach to rural India. Therefore, any tax subsidies for logistics
companies that would help develop this ecosystem would in turn help fuel the
growth of e-commerce in India. In the area of fashion e-commerce, one specific
opportunity is around standardisation of sizes of clothing products. This would
make shoppers more comfortable buying online. However, this type of initiative
requires investment from the government into an independent body that sets such
standards across the industry.

There is also an opportunity to
simplify regulations for international brands to do business in India. For
instance, dozens of international brands have recently launched on
Fashionara.com and there are many more that are very interested in entering the
Indian market. However, there is a sense of cautious scepticism due to a lack
of clarity in regulations to import goods and sell in India. Simplification of
regulations and custom duty rules would go a long way in allowing hundreds of
brands to enter this market via online channels, where the investment is much
lower compared to setting up physical stores.

Next, the Digital India
initiative, if executed well, will help connect rural areas with high-speed
Internet networks, allowing e-commerce to reach parts of India, which are
currently served only by unorganised retail. One cannot forget the fact that
disposable incomes in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are on the rise, and consumers
there have higher aspirational levels than earlier. Apart from reaching out to
the customers, many enthusiastic entrepreneurs from the interiors of India can
join the organised retail industry and scale up their businesses to pan-India.
Hence, it would be instrumental in bringing the best of different parts of
India to the entire population of the country. The best of the collections and
niche offerings will be available to everyone at their finger tips. This would
make "everything accessible to everyone" and truly foster growth for
the 'Make in India' campaign.

Apart from helping the e-commerce
industry grow, this would also offer immense opportunity to small players to
increase their scale who find challenges - to fund the infrastructure to place
the products pan-India through different offline outlets, to offer logistics
till the consumer's end, to have in-house expertise in consumer facing
packaging of products and to have in-house expertise to market the products to
relevant target groups through online medium. The e-commerce industry would
also nurture many more allied industries with expertise in the e-commerce
domain, such as logistics, warehousing, mobile marketing, etc, serving
e-commerce companies. E-commerce is definitely going to encourage small and
talented entrepreneurs to dream big and would vicariously facilitate 'Make in
India'.

With the advent of e-commerce
players, people used to confuse horizontal supermarkets with vertical players
like departmental stores. With the industry evolving and everyone trying to
differentiate, the time has come when a vertical player like Fashionara.com
which deals with fashion clearly differentiates itself from any other online
hypermarket. Way forward, even vertical players dealing with similar segment
would try to differentiate themselves more in different and innovative ways.

Virtually, everything
we need - be it a product or service - would have a potential to come online
with a higher value proposition of "convenience". We, as the coolest
fashion e-mall, have been instrumental in bringing many things to the table for
the first time to differentiate ourselves and stand out from the crowd. At the
end of the day it's all about stepping up your game. From video catalogues, to
creatively-designed Look Books that talk about the latest of trends, a fashion
magazine that captures the world of style, and our international fashion
section that has been handpicked from various brands and sellers across the
world; we have been innovative in our approach in creating an impact on our
fashion-savvy customers, and we will continue to do so.

Last, with the high
penetration of smartphones in India and due to the affinity of users to do many
things on the go, there is an affinity for mobile apps. Currently, there are
millions of mobile apps available on Google Play Store, Windows Store and the
App Store. Apart from mobility, mobile is also the central device for a
consumer which can do almost anything, including calling which a desktop or a
laptop cannot do easily. This provokes digital companies to gain a share of
space in a consumer's mobile through apps, which can generate higher engagement
with consumers. Having the mobile app on consumer's mobile also increases the brand
preference score of the company. The app can be a simplified medium to reach
consumers, and to offer simplified after-sales service to them. Imagine, when a
consumer wants to call the customer care of the company, and the app can offer
a feature by which a consumer simply taps a particular section and gets
connected to customer care over phone. This can be done through an app in a
very simplified manner. There are many more things which could be done
innovatively with an app.

On an average, each mobile user
has 40-50 apps installed on his/her device, but only 4-5 apps are used by a
customer on a regular basis. The challenge for every digital company is to be
one of those 4-5 apps which include social apps, shopping apps, entertainment
apps, etc. To be one of those 4-5 apps, the real key would be to engage the set
of customers through their mobile app, and offer best value not only specific
to the category that the app deals with but also across all the other
categories.

There are many more
innovations expected in the mobile engagement sector and this could be by
making navigation easiest and fastest, offering customised recommended content
depending on past behaviour of that particular customer till the point it
becomes a one-stop personal assistant for that category. We at Fashionara.com
have

tried to achieve that through our
mobile app. It will not only be necessary to differentiate with a valuable
proposition for the company, but will also be necessary to differentiate the
app from other apps in a similar category. There are many other innovations
expected too, such as experimentation with augmented reality which would offer
realistic but virtual trial rooms to every user and could enrich the experience
of the consumers buying online.

To sum it up: there is no question
that e-commerce is here to stay and thrive in India. However, the upcoming
policy announcements and innovations will play a crucial role in impacting this
growth over the next few years.

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